Woodside hurts ankle, but Bison men prevail against Wisconsin-Green Bay
Early leads are very helpful, especially when the unexpected occurs.
On Sunday, the NDSU men’s basketball team jumped out to a huge first half lead before standout point guard Ben Woodside landed awkwardly on his foot.
Despite losing Woodside, the Bison rallied together for an 85-73 victory over the University of Wiconsin-Green Bay in front of 2,412 fans at the Bison Sports Arena.
The Bison started the first half on a 31-6 run.
Things were going great for the Bison until Woodside got hurt. Woodside hobbled and then fell to the ground, grimacing in pain.
He left the game with a sprained left ankle, and the Bison needed a jump-start.
Mike Nelson stepped up and had a career day. Nelson scored 21 points in the first half to give the Bison a 41-24 lead going into halftime.
“ I was getting open looks off our screens and that really freed me up,” Nelson said.
The Phoenix did not make things easy on the Bison in the second half.
Guard Ryan Evanochko led Wisconsin-Green Bay with 20 points and hassled the Bison guards.
“ It was a tough physical game, and with Ben (Woodside) out, it’s a hard adjustment to make,” NDSU head coach Tim Miles said. “Having twenty turnovers at home, we cannot do that.”
Despite the turnovers, NDSU held on for the victory, which was the 10th consecutive home win for the Bison.
But all the talk after the game was about Woodside.
“ We rely on Woody and it was a challenge as unit; we all had to step up,” said freshman NDSU guard Josh Vaughan, who took over the point guard position after Woodside left. “I knew I had to get more players involved.”